Newton is a one-of-kind offensive weapon, and his abilities to both be a threat to run the ball and make accurate run-game reads make everyone on the Panthers offense better, including his wide receivers. Steve Smith had Carolina’s biggest play of the day — a 66-yard catch in which no one on New Orleans's defense was within 20 yards of him. As Newton explained after the game, Smith was the direct beneficiary of Carolina's dynamic rushing attack: "Of all of the people on this field to be wide open, you would think Smitty would be the last person,” Newton said. “But that is what type of pressure the zone read gives us."

That’s the beauty of the Panthers' offense when it’s rolling. Newton led the Panthers in rushing, but both Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams had 50 more yards on the ground, and Smith, Brandon LaFell, and even Mike Tolbert were dangerous receiving options. "You do read option, read option, read option and then get them to play seven or eight in the box and you've got so many variations of plays and passes you can run off that," Newton said.

The most exciting part about the diversity of the Panthers' attack, though, isn’t the mix of traditional and spread offenses, or the number of players who touch the ball. It’s the diversity within their read-option package.